Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken

I love this chicken! It’s juicy, full of smoky chipotle flavor and you just throw everything in a slow cooker and forget about it for four hours. This makes it great for summertime tacos! No need to turn on the oven or stove for this chicken. Plus just 6 ingredients you might already have on hand – onions, a can of chipotle in adobo, garlic, salt and pepper. That’s it! Simple recipes are my fave! Let’s make it!

Ingredients for slow cooker chipotle chicken

• Chicken breast: as always, mine is from butcher box! Organic, free-range and humanely raised chicken delivered straight to my door!
• Chipotle in adobo: love using chipotle adobo sauce in so many recipes. They give smoky heat and add delicious flavor to meat, chilis, and makes a killer chipotle mayo.
• Onion: I like to thinly slice the onion to keep it a similar shape to the shredded chicken, but you could also chop it. I typically use yellow onion for this recipe but you could really use any onion. Use what you have!
• Garlic: for the ultimate, low-effort recipe, I just smash the cloves using the side of my knife to quickly remove the peel.
• Salt and pepper: you could add other spices like oregano and cumin if you have them but if you make this recipe as is you will still end up with perfectly delicious shredded chicken!

Making the chicken

I use the slow cook setting on my instant pot, which automatically defaults to a 4 hour cooking session. If you don’t have an instant pot, set your slow cooker to the ‘high’ setting and cook for 4 hours.

It’s so easy to make this chicken. Just toss all the ingredients into your crockpot and forget about it for 4 hours. But one important note: be sure to follow the recipe instructions and sprinkle the salt directly onto the chicken. Salt tenderizes the meat so its important to apply it directly onto the meat.

Shred the chicken

After the chicken is done cooking, use two forks to shred it, the chicken should shred very easily. It might seem like there’s a lot of liquid but once you shred the chicken it will soak up all that liquid which means juicy, flavorful chicken! A squeeze of lime, if you have it, is the perfect bright flavor to go with the smoky chipotle.

Enjoy slow cooker chipotle chicken with…

This chicken is perfect for tacos which means it would also be wonderful in a burrito. Maybe on top of nachos or in a quesadilla. Even on top of a salad! Basically anywhere! Ooh sandwiches too!

A word of warning

Canned chipotle in adobo can be quite spicy! If you are sensitive to spice, you may want to use half of a can to start with. I have also found that even certain brands can be more spicy and the spice level can even just vary from can to can. If you plan to enjoy this chicken with cheese, sour cream rice and/or tortillas that might also help tone down the spicy factor a bit.

About Butcher Box

I mentioned earlier in my post that I get my chicken from Butcher Box. But not just my chicken!

Butcher Box is a meat subscription service with a wide selection of meats to choose from. I mix it up from delivery to delivery but always get chicken, and then mix between ground beef and steaks, pork chops, bacon, salmon and cod! I’ve even gotten filet mignon and it doesn’t change the flat fee that I am charged for my box.

Please note: I am an affiliate for them, which just means if you decide to sign up, I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend them because I use this service and truly enjoy it!

SLOW COOKER CHIPOTLE CHICKEN

Tried this recipe?

If you try this recipe, let me know! I’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment/rating below and find me on instagram @thefigjar. Enjoy!